A Gamecube, the Allspark, and Marcee
by Kittisbat
Summary: The Allspark was destroyed, the shard pulled from Megatron's chest a mere hunk of metal that's only use was to remind the Autobots of their loss. But energy, power, isn't destroyable.
1. School's Out

**Author's Note: First off, this is a different universe from my other story. In this one, the **_**Transformers**_** movie does not exist. Secondly, I know a certain human's name is really close to a certain robot's name. Though this was not done on purpose, I do plan on having fun with it. Thirdly, reviews are welcome, no matter in what form. Flames will be taken as compliments (why else would you take the time to send a review, even if you hate the story?), constructive criticism is welcome, as well as any review that is just encouraging.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Transformers_or any of its characters. I only own Marcee, Stacey, and someone who you won't meet until the next chapter. ;-)**

The Allspark was full of energy and power, more than anyone, human or not, can fully comprehend. It was thought that with the destruction of the Allspark, its energy was lost, destroyed, but as most of us humans know, energy cannot be destroyed, merely transferred. Perhaps the Autobots thought the energy, once its container had been destroyed, had dissolved into the far reaches of space, like a grain of salt when dropped into a fish tank full of water. Perhaps they truly thought it had been destroyed. Maybe they just chose not to think about it at all, too great was their feeling of loss. That's not what matters, though. What matters is what _did_ happen.

Marcee woke up with light falling on her face and a jaw-cracking yawn. As she sat up in her bed and stretched her arms, she realized she hadn't woken to her alarm. With panic beginning to grow in her breast, she turned the clock by her bed toward her. Nothing. The digital clock face was blank, black, off. She quickly, and clumsily, grabbed for her watch on the nightstand. 8:15. She cursed under her breath and scrambled out of bed, peeling off her night clothes as she did so and pulling on the nearest clean clothes, resulting in a mismatched mess that would have been embarrassing any other time. She ran her fingers through her messy brown hair in a vain attempt to smooth it out while grabbing her purse off the floor and dashing out her bedroom door, into the living room, and scrambling out the front door and down the steps to her car. She fumbled with her keys as she pulled them out of her purse, and barely managed to force them into the slot in her rush. Marcee sat down in the driver's seat while starting the car and closing the door all at the same time, almost shutting the door on a brown cloth shoulder strap. She backed out of the driveway and floored it as she rushed into town, trying to get to school before missing her second class. It was already much too late for her first. She continued to curse under her breath as she pulled onto the college campus, and noticed, with another flare of panic, that the sidewalks were all most completely empty. She grabbed her books from her messy back seat before scrambling out of the car and rushing down the sidewalk, almost running into her friend Stacey as she did so.

"Woah! What's the rush, Marc'?"

"My alarm didn't go off, late for class, gotta go!" Marcee breathed out in one quick breath and before starting to shove around the red-haired girl in front of her.

"Marcee, didn't you hear? No classes! They were canceled, thanks to that weird attack on Mission City and the meteors and everything. Calm down!"

It took a moment before Stacey's words finally hit Marcee. Her shoulders sagged and she almost dropped her books as it hit her. All that rush for nothing!

"'Guess I missed it. My power's out, so…."

"Eh, don't worry about it, Marc'. Just go home, get ready for the day like you're not in a rush, and watch the news while you eat breakfast. Nothing's making much sense right now, from what I hear."

Marcee let out one last breath before her breathing returned to normal, but it sounded more like a sigh. Her pale green eyes looked up to meet with Stacey's chocolate brown ones, and Marcee asked curiously, "If there's no class, what are you doing out?"

Stacey shrugged, her braid bouncing as she did so. Stacey wasn't necessarily a pretty girl, but she was far from ugly. Her dark red hair was in a braid that went all the way down to her waist, and her skin was pale white with only the barest hint of a tan. She was skinny, but with just enough meat on her bones so that she was a breath away from bony. Her nose was a sharp point, and her lips were a thin, pink line. Her eyes, in contrast, were soft and carefree, though, and the clothes she wore were normally of bright colors in rich tones so that they didn't hurt the eye and managed to look good at the same time. "I got tired of watching the news, nothing new is coming up, after all, and decided to take a walk, see what all this damage talk is about. I heard one of the meteors slammed into the science lab, and I want to see if the rumor is true."

Marcee gave a short nod, barely paying attention anymore. She had heard about the meteors, they had landed on Saturday. She had been in school that Saturday, and that night they had landed. She hadn't heard much about it, but during Sunday there had been some attack on Mission City. The news reporters were probably just now getting enough information to make an intelligent report. Why Marcee's power was out, though, was something she didn't know. The meteors hadn't damaged her power lines, so why didn't anything work? With a quick wave to her friend, she headed back to her car and turned the key before driving, much slower, back to her house.

Marcee's house was small, with only four rooms, not counting closets or the single hallway. She had her room with a window facing her driveway, and connected to her room opposite of the window was a closet with sliding doors. A small hallway, barely large enough to able to be called anything at all, connected the bedroom to a bathroom on the other side of the closet. Then, connected by an open doorway, there was the living room, the largest room in the house. It was connected to the kitchen by two open doorways and a half-wall separating them with small, wooden beams connecting the half-wall to the ceiling. The kitchen was only slightly smaller than the living room.

Marcee's first stop as she entered her house through the front door in the living room was the bathroom. She took a nice, long shower before dawning some decent looking clothes and brushing her hair. As she peered at herself in the bathroom mirror, she saw someone whom she never would have considered pretty, but many boys would have argued otherwise. She had wavy, dark brown hair with slightly darker streaks running through it that fell to about her mid-back. Her skin was lightly tanned, more so than Stacey's but still only a golden dusting. Her features were smoother and she had more flesh on her than her skinny friend. Her face was round and her nose was, seemingly, perfectly formed. She had strong hands, arms, and legs.

Marcee's next stop was the phone. She wanted her electricity working again before night fell and she no longer had light to see by. Unfortunately, the line was dead, and she had to use her, luckily, charged, cell phone. The operator for the power company said that they hadn't received any calls for over in her area, though they had had many wherever the meteors had landed. It wasn't long before a truck showed up and men inspected her wires. She walked out into her treeless front yard to watch them.

One of the men walked up to her. He was exactly the sort of man Marcee would peg for doing hard manual labor, though not necessarily in the electrical area. "Ma'am?" he asked as he walked up, putting out a large hand that shook Marcee's smaller one firmly. "Your power is definitely out, but we can't figure out what _put_ it out. Do you have any idea?"

Marcee shook her head. "No, none. I just woke up this morning and it was out."

The man scratched his head and looked back at the two other men behind him that were already climbing back into their truck. "We've fixed it, but all we had to do was shut off the power flow and start it up again. Don't know what's wrong. S'pose it's not my job to really care, though. Bye, miss."

As the truck pulled away, Marcee couldn't help but feel that was an odd meeting. She shrugged it off, though, and re-entered her house. She scooped up her remote control, turned the TV to the news like Stacey had said, and headed to the kitchen to fix herself some toast, bacon, and eggs. She felt like indulging in something other than Pop Tarts after her hectic morning.

Marcee had a desk pushed against the half-wall on the living room side of the barrier with a monitor, mouse and mouse pas, and keyboard as well as the clutter of much of her junk. Underneath the table sat the CPU, though it wasn't on. Marcee was sitting in the wheeled chair in front of the desk and had idly picked up an object out of the pile of junk. It was something she had made in high school for art. Their assignment had been to make a creative are project using a box shape out of any material you chose. She had chosen metal, and had decorated the exterior of it with odd shapes and symbols she had found on the Internet years earlier. A man called Archibald Witwicky had made them, and as soon as she had seen them, she had become amazed by their intricate designs and shapes. She tossed the cube up and down her hand, occasionally even tossing it to her other hand. She watched the news with fading interest as each news report brought less and less new information.

"Some witnesses claim to have seen giant robots brawling with each other in a destructive fight that destroyed most of Mission City. Others claim…."

"Yeah right. Giant robots my foot," Marcee muttered at the newswoman, standing up and heading over to the TV, box still in hand. She had left the remote in the kitchen after eating her breakfast there at the small square table. It had been a couple hours since then, but she was too lazy to go in there after it. She continued to toss the box about, and as she pressed the button on her small TV, she dropped it onto her Gamecube still plugged in, its controllers strewn about the room after having been kicked about. She _felt_ before she saw the change in the small, silver game console.

* * *

A yellow Camaro, sitting peacefully in a driveway like a normal car, shuddered, its pieces rattling together as it did so. Two robots, one with flames, the other, a bright neon yellow, lurched suddenly during their inspection of a concrete room within Hoover Dam. A black robot, sitting with his arms crossed in a room full of humans, one leaning against his knee, jerked in his position, jarring the man slightly. Something had happened. Something had changed.


	2. Robots and the Internet

**Author's Note: Poor Autobots. Can't even get a day's vacation after a major fight without something popping up!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Transformers**_** or its characters, only Marcee, Stacey, and the soon-to-be-named Gamecube/robot. I also don't own the Gamecube. Or the Internet. Or Google. Or anything else!**

Marcee stared down at her Gamecube with a mixture of horror, fascination, and that tomboyish thought in the back of her head that kept saying, "Cool!" As the silvery plastic broke apart and shifted, the top portion of the front broke apart into two pieces, settling themselves so that they had a more rounded appearance and a crack between them showed some wires, also shifting and moving. The bottom half of the console broke apart and shifted downward, spreading apart and forming a semi-cyclindrical shape and two boxy legs and feet. The side portions of the Gamecube shifted into just as boxy arms, the gaps in the "skin" showing the creature's insides. Its hands had only three fingers, and its feet had just as many toes.

The top popped open as well, and leftover pieces of the top came together to form a square, helmeted head. The lid shifted down to break apart and take its place as the things back. It looked up at Marcee with glowing green eyes, and she could just make out partially human-like features on its face, like a small mouth and nose like ridge. The creature seemed curious as it looked up at her, and suddenly, all ill-will toward this creature vanished. She watched as it moved its arms forward to point at her, and then _they_ changed.

The thing's right hand formed what looked like a the muzzle of a revolver- the large, circular snout backed by smaller, spinning cylinders that Marcee assumed to be holding the ammunition. Its other hand changed to what looked like a cannon, and a blue plasma-like thing seemed to well up in the nozzle. It fired its right hand gun somewhere at the ceiling, most likely only missing Marcee thanks to bad aim. She backed up and covered her face with her hands as it fired the other gun at her, this time hitting on the shoulder. The shot _stung_ more than anything else, but she certaintly didn't want to get fired at again.

"Please, don't shoot! Don't hurt me!" she whimpered, though she didn't truly believe it would work. It fired again with its right hand gun, again missing and instead shooting a window behind her. "Please?" she whispered.

Marcee peeked between her fingers when she didn't hear another shot. The robot was still pointing guns at her, but it was no longer firing. It still had that curious look on its face, as if it merely wanted to know what would happen if it fired its guns. Marcee began to pull her hands away from her face and the robot transformed its guns back into hands. Marcee smiled down at it in a motherly fashion, and she could have sworn it tried to mimic her expression.

Now that she had time to take a good look at her once-Gamecube, she realized it wasn't very tall, only a finger length or so taller than her forearm. Tentatively, she reached out her hand to it, and it reached out its own to grasp a couple of her fingers. It turned the hand this way and that in its grasp, inspecting every bend and every wrinkle in the skin. Then it dropped the hand and looked back up to her face.

Deciding that this was like a robot newborn, Marcee pointed to herself and said, "I'm Marcee. Mar-cee. My name is Marcee."

The robot mimicked the sound of her name, and his voice sounded like the metallic version of a kid holding their nose while they talked. "Marcee," it repeated, seeming quite proud with itself.

Marcee smiled, showing her white teeth. The robot cocked his head at her, much like a puppy would if it was confused. Marcee made the decision that the robotic organism's education was her responsibility, and as everyone liked music, made another decision that this would be where she started. She spread out her arms like someone expecting a hug in the hopes the creature would do just that and she could carry it over to her computer. Instead, it just copied her. With only a hint of annoyance, she slowly reached out to it and carefully picked it up, careful not to cut herself on what she thought would be sharp edges. The creature continued to look at her curiously, complete trust in its optics.

Marcee cradled it in her arms as she sat down in her rolling desk-chair and turned it to face the computer. She lifted her arms away from the robot, and it settled down on her lap, watching her fingers as she moved the mouse and typed on the keyboard. She opened up her browser and, at a questioning glance from her Gamecube, gestured to the monitor, mouse, keyboard, and CPU in turn and explained, "This is a computer. That's the monitor," she pointed, "this is the keyboard, this thing is called a mouse, and that's the CPU. The monitor shows an image, you use the mouse to click and make selections, the keyboard types in words, symbols, numbers, and other things, and the CPU is what runs it all." The robot merely blinked, but Marcee got the feeling it was listening and, to a point, understood.

"This thing I'm on right now," she told it, "is called the Internet. You can find almost anything on the Internet, but you can't always believe what information you find there." Marcee typed in Google's address and pressed enter. "This is Google, a site I use to search for things on the Internet. It's called search engine." She paused for a moment as she decided what kind of music to introduce her little buddy to, and decided that, at least for his first dose, Mozart would be the best choice. She quickly searched a music site with Mozart out and played the first song she clicked. "This is called music. There are many different kinds of music, and this is considered classical music. It's by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, or Mozart for short."

They listened to Mozart for at least an hour, and Marcee felt sure that little robo enjoyed it. She then decided it needed to be introduced to other types of music, and moved onto the next genre that popped into her head: jazz. After a few jazz songs, they tried out the blues, folk songs of a variety of nations, rock, punk, country, and a couple others. By the time Marcee looked at the time, it was six.

"Oh, shoot, I gotta run. I have work. Will you be ok by yourself?"

Using a word it had heard while listening to the music, it replied, "Yes."

Marcee flashed it another motherly smile. "Please try not to break anything, but if you want, you can use the computer or tv."

It blinked and replied, "Yes."

She nodded and grabbed her purse before heading out the door. "I'll be back in a while."

* * *

"So, tell me again, how'd you get out of doing paperwork today?" Mikaela asked. She was perched on the end of Sam's bed, while he was sitting at his computer, chair turned toward her.

"I told them that in my state, there would be no way I would be able to adequately fill out the forms and I'd need at least one more day, if not two. I _did_ sign a couple of things that promised I wouldn't tell anyone about them until further notice, though. What about you? Shouldn't you be signing paperwork?"

I already did. This morning, and some of it yesterday. I heard you would get a ton more than I did, though, thanks to-" she cut off her sentence as she heard an odd rattling outside. Both teens rushed to the window and looked down at the fancy yellow car parked in the driveway.

"Bumblebee," she finished. Without another word, they both rushed down the stairs, past Sam's startled parents, and to the Camaro's side.

Sam rested a hand on the passenger side door and rested his forehead against the glass. "Bee? What's the matter?" He pulled his head away as the window rolled down and the radio began flipping stations.

"A change- something new- have to go-" it got out, using random radio clips.

"Bumblebee, seriously," Sam answered, his voice becoming slightly panicky.

"I'll be back," the car answered, using the trademark _Terminator_ line. It started to roll slowly out of the driveway, waiting for Sam to let go of the door handle he now clutched. Sam hesitated, but Mikaela comfortingly put hands on his shoulders.

"It's probably some Cybertronian thing, Sam. Let him go."

Slowly, he obeyed, and the Camaro sped off, wheels screeching as it did so.

And, of course, Sam's parents came out to see what had happened.

"Sam, what was that?" Judy asked, looking around suspiciously.

"What was what? There's nothing wrong. What makes you think something's wrong?" Sam blathered. Mikaela discreetly elbowed him.

"Where's the car?" was Ron's answering question.

Before Sam could open his mouth again, Mikaela stepped forward. "One of his friends borrowed it. We just hadn't realized they'd be here so early, that's all."

The Witwickys visibly relaxed as she spoke. "Oh, that's all?" Judy laughed nervously. Sam's parents had been on edge ever since Sector Seven had taken him away and then they were all suddenly released without an explanation. It didn't help that the next time they saw their son after that he was covered in blood, sweat, and seemed visibly freaked out.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Mikaela continued to soothe.

"Well, alright, if that's all," Ron muttered and turned around to head back into the house. Both parents seemed a little suspicious, but they didn't say anything more.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Mikaela repeated to Sam as they headed back into his room.


	3. Autobots, Roll Out

**Author's Note: This (short) chapter is dedicated to my lone reviewer, KimTheKat! *applause is heard* Whoo! Thanks Kim! If it weren't for you, this chapter would have probably taken longer, and it has already take a while.**

**Oh, and I've edited the first chapter. It's nothing you need to go back and read or anything, but I've moved Ratchet and Ironhide into Hoover Dam instead of some random patch of land.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Transformers_ or any of its characters, iPods, Gamecubes, etc. I do own, hey, cool, a music store! A nameless music store! As well as our Gamecube buddy, who does, by the way, have a name, Stacey, and Marcee.**

Marcee had almost forgotten about the little robot at her house while at work. She was just about to close up shop when she remembered, and decided to take a present home to the newest addition to her household.

The store sold just about everything musical: instruments, CD players, CDs, iPods, posters, music-related magazines, shirts, jackets, DVDs of concerts or just plain music in general, even lunch boxes. They also had music lessons in a back room, and it was here that Marcee had learned to play the piano. Just before she left, she purchased a keyboard (which made her wonder why she didn't already have one), a random classical CD that was mainly piano music, and a book of sheet music. As she drove home, she pondered on how to teach a three-fingered robot how to play the piano, but simply gave up and hoped that she would somehow figure it out when she actually gave it a shot. She parked her car in the driveway and, gifts in hand, opened the front door with one hand. As she slid through the door, she mentally chastised herself for not locking it. Not that she didn't think a thief would go running if it saw a robot in her house, but trusting a Gamecube to keep her house safe wasn't the best idea.

She looked over to see said Gamecube surfing the web. As she set down her junk, it looked over, and even seemed to perk up a bit. It hopped down off the computer desk onto the chair, and then onto the floor as it came trotting up to her. Marcee noticed it could already walk much better than a toddler could, and it was still only a couple hours old. It pointed to the electronic keyboard in a silent question.

"That's a keyboard," she answered, setting it down on the ground for it. The robot pressed one of the keys and lurched back slightly as the machine answered with a noise. "You can use it to make music," Marcee explained, sliding it up on her lap and playing "Jingle Bells." The robot was immediately fascinated. "You just have to learn how to play it."  
She set the keyboard back down and watched as it stepped forward and pressed each of the keys experimentally. After a few failed attempts, the robot managed to successfully, if slowly, play "Jingle Bells." Marcee was amazed at its progress. So much for teaching it how to play.

She glanced over at the clock hanging in the kitchen. It was a little after 11:30, and Marcee didn't know if she was going to have school tomorrow or not. She looked back down at the happy robot. "Do you sleep?" she asked it. It cocked its helmeted head at her in what she swore was a quizzical expression. "Recharge? Shut down for the night? You know, sleep?"

It blinked once before nodding and saying, "Yes," in its little metallic voice.

Marcee scooped it up and put the robot on her hip like she'd seen many moms do with their children. "It's time to sleep, then. Do you want to sleep with me, in my bed?"

She watched as confusion passed over its facial features, then slow realization. Again it replied, "Yes."

Marcee grinned and set it down on her bed. "I'll be right back." She grabbed her night clothes and headed to the bathroom.

She changed quickly before using brushing her teeth and using the bathroom. She was debating a shower before she heard an odd electronic chirping noise, and peeked around the corner to see her robot sitting up on the bed, looking at her. She decided she would take her shower in the morning, and headed into her room.

Marcee's bed was a full size, and had plenty of room for both robot and human. As she slid under the covers, she offered the robot the other side of the bed. After a moments hesitation, it crawled under the sheets and copied her position of one-arm-under-her-head-on-the-pillow-while-the-other-remained-underneath-the-sheets. This brought a soft smile to her face before she closed her eyes and let the darkness of sleep wash over her.

* * *

"Prime, what happened? I've never felt anything like that before."

Ratchet took the two remaining steps forward to be by the yellow 'bot's side and put a hand on his shoulder. His expression was almost weary, all of them, with the possible exception of their youngest, knew what was coming next. "That," Ratchet answered, his tone just as tired, but nowhere near impatient, "was what it feels like for there to be a sudden transfer of energy from one source to another, creating, in short, life."

Bumblebee raised an eye ridge. "You mean…?"

"Yes, Bumblebee," Prime answered, his deep voice both comforting and sad at the same time, "we believe that was the feeling of a new spark being formed."

"But we don't know for sure," Ratchet added.

Ironhide crossed his arms and looked over from his place beside Optimus Prime. Though he had been at the meeting the whole time, this was the first he deigned to speak. "It is unlikely it is anything else, though. In all this time, I've never felt something quite like it. _That_ was a new sparkling."

Prime sighed, or at least made the closest sound to a sigh that a robot could make. Ironhide was in was of his moods, he and his soldiers hadn't had much, if any, time to recharge, and they already had something else they needed to look for and reach before the Decepticons. Their only advantage at this point, it seemed, was that the Decepticons were without a leader, but no one knew how long that would last. The Autobots had also promised to help in the Mission City cleanup, which made matters even harder. Though Prime didn't like the idea, they were going to have to separate and take shifts.

Prime blinked his optics before giving his announcement. "This won't be any easy task. We're going to have to split the work between us. Two of us will be working in the Mission City cleanup. Another will search for the sparkling, or whatever else it may be. The last of us will remain at base in recharge. All of us will have to keep our radar on high alert. We don't want any Decepticons sneaking up behind us. Bumblebee, you will be the first to search, starting tonight." The yellow scout blinked before nodding his acceptance. "Ironhide and I will go to Mission City." The weapons specialist made a loud grunt, but the 'bots could all tell he was happy with the choice. "Ratchet, you will stay here for tonight."

"But Prime," he immediantly argued. Optimus had known it was coming, though, and was prepared. "You need the rest more than I do. I'll go with Ironhide-"

"No, Ratchet, _you_ need it more. I can take it one more night. Go. Rest."

The medic looked ready to argue further, but it was obvious such attempts would get him nowhere. Shoulders drooping, he headed turned to walk into another room.

"Autobots, roll out."

**Author's Note: Yeah yeah, you're probably going, "So, what, she has a really short chapter and even **_**more**_** A/Ns than usual?!" The answer is yes. Since my decision to start dedicating every chapter to something (be it a reviewer, a song, or my mother because I ran out of other things to dedicate it to), I've also decided to be taking suggestions. Possibly. If I **_**like**_** the idea (but just because I don't use it doesn't mean I don't like it. It could mean it interferes with the plot I have planned, or something.) But that also requires reviewing, so…. ;D**


	4. Loss and Victory

**Author's Note: Took a long time to get this up, even though it's been ready for about a day or so. Oops. *cough* Anyway, this chapter is much longer than the last chapter, which is good. I also have the next chapter *relatively* planned out, so it will hopefully be out soon. A special thanks to With08, Raine Tsuki-san, and Flower K. Owl for reviewing my last chapter.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Flower K. Owl for thinking up the adorable nickname of Cu-bot. Though it has a name, I'll be sure to use that nickname some time during the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Transformers_ or its characters, _Mario Party 7, _Mario, Yoshi, or Peach. However, I do own Stacey, Marcee, and Mario. (Have I confused you yet?)**

Marcee groaned as her phone went off, and she reached over to her nightstand to grab it. Not there. Great. She let out another moan as she pulled off the covers and slowly got out of bed, rubbing her eyes as she did so, and walked into the living room in the undead-dragging-your-feet sort of way that happened when someone woke you up too early. She grappled with the cell phone she had carelessly flung onto the couch the day before, it slipping between her sleep-numbed fingers a couple times before she finally managed to open it and put the device to her ear. "Hello?" she answered groggily.

"No school today, either!" It was easy to recognize the all-too-cheerful voice of Stacey.

"That's great, Stace, but could you tell me _without_ waking me up next time?"

"How late did you stay up last night, Marcee? Normally, you'd have been up and been in your first class by now!" Marcee glanced at the clock on her kitchen wall. 6:30. Marcee hated in when Stacey was right.

"Anyway, I called to ask if you wanted to come over to my place today, since we have nothing else to do today."

"What's wrong with my place?" Marcee asked, wandering back in the direction of her bedroom and bathroom.

"Nothing! Nothing at all! But my dorm room has the better tv, and movies…."

"You got another one, didn't you? And you want me to watch it with you."

"Maybe…."

Marcee sighed. "Fine. As long as I get to…" she paused as she tried to think of something. Then she heard the questioning chirp from her bedroom. "As long as I get to bring my Gamecube and we play at least one game."

"Deal. But seriously, Marc', if you're going to bring a console, why not bring a new one? Like the Xbox 360, or something?"

"Because some games are classics and all I can afford," she retorted. Marcee could almost hear the eye roll on the other end of the line.

"All right, then. Just come over whenever, my room's clean, so I don't really have anything to worry about."

"Bye, Stace."

"See ya!"

Marcee groaned again, but this time it had nothing to do with sleep. Leave it to Stacey to be able to stay up all night, drink a few cups of coffee, and then wake up everyone else sounding joyful and happy. She ran a hand over her face and wandered back into her room and to her Gamecube robot. "I'm going to get dressed and stuff, little 'bot. You can go exploring the house or whatever. Just don't get yourself into trouble, ok? No sticking your fingers in power sockets, and all that. Right?"

The robot answered with its favorite word: "Yes."

She watched as it slid off the bed and, only stumbling a couple times, walked past her and out into the living room. She sighed and turned into the bathroom to take her shower.

When the whole morning routine was finished, Marcee found the little 'bot sitting beside her small stack of video games that used to be next to the Gamecube. It had picked up the one off the top and was looking at the cover when it noticed she had entered the room. It looked up at her, made another one of its questioning little chirps, and held up the case to her.

Marcee took the case and flipped it over to view the cover. _Mario Party 7._ She hadn't played it in forever….

"This is a video game," she explained, using the tone of voice one did when explaining something to a child. "You put this disk," she opened the case and popped out the disk, holding it on her finger as she showed it to the Gamecube, "into its console and you can play games on the television screen. This one was for the Gamecube, what you used to be before you became, you know, a robot."

The robot blinked, and donned an almost thoughtful expression. Then, suddenly, it changed.

It startled Marcee to see the 'bot change back into a Gamecube. Sure, she had assumed it could, but thinking something and witnessing it are two entirely different things. It was a surprisingly quick transformation, too, even faster than its original one. She just stood there, bewildered, for a moment before she realized what the robot wanted.

It wanted to play the video game.

Marcee let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding before taking the cords that came out the back of her robot-console and hooked them up to the tv and a power socket. She then turned popped the game in and plugged up a nearby controller that had gotten kicked out of the Gamecube before the transformation. She flipped on the tv and sat down on the couch.

Surprisingly, the game worked. As the intro played, Marcee felt her thoughts buzzing around in her head, none of them staying clear enough for her to truly know what it was saying before being replaced by another. She selected a game, and was only mildly surprised when she found that the Gamecube itself was player two. If it could transform in and out of Gamecube form, it could do anything, in her mind.

Marcee picked her usual character, Yoshi, while the robot-Gamecube took Mario. She let it take main control, letting it select to read the instructions and the board they played. On the first game, Marcee won, being as she had played the game before. However, she felt a little guilty for beating Mario, and they played a second game, which it won. They played three more games when Marcee remembered she was supposed to head over to Stacey's.

At the same time, she decided she wasn't going to tell Stacey, at least not tonight, about her Gamecube.

"Little 'bot? Do you want to come over with me to a friend's house? You'll have to stay in this form, but you could still come…"

It made an affirmative chirp-noise, which Marcee took for a yes. "All right, then. Remember, stay in this form."

She then unplugged the Gamecube, grabbed the _Mario Party 7_ case, and slung her purse over her shoulder. With her robot friend in tow, the pair got into the car and drove off toward the city and to Stacey's dorm.

When Marcee got out of the elevator once she reached the third story of the dorm, she immediately heard a dog barking. She sighed. The dorm had a "no pet's rule," but it wasn't really enforced. She walked down to her friend's room and knocked on the door, and the response was the dog barking even loudly. She heard a, "Sushi, shut up!" before the door was opened.

"I still don't see why you named the dog Sushi," Marcee commented as she entered. The pomeranian responsible for the barking was looking over at the doorway from behind Stacey's leg. The only thing unusual about it was that it was cream color instead of the normal orange.

"What's not to get? I like sushi, she likes sushi, and she looks like a little rice ball. I still have the picture of her with a piece of fish on her head, you know."

Marcee rolled her eyes and slid past Stacey into the room. She was clutching the Gamecube to her chest, the _Mario Party 7_ case sitting on top of it. She then walked over to Stacey's fancy flat screen plasma tv and hooked it up. "Remember," she whispered to it discreetly.

"_Mario Party 7?_ Marc' that's ancient! They've already made its sequel!"

"But its good, and I don't own the sequal. Besides, you agreed."

Stacey groaned before coming over and grabbing the second controller. "Might as well get this over with," she grumbled.

This time, the Gamecube was player three, though Stacey didn't seem to notice. Again, it picked Mario, Marcee picked Yoshi, and Stacey picked Peach. Mario easily beat them.

"Gosh, Marcee! What'd difficulty did you put on it?"

Marcee grinned to herself and silently cheered on Mario. It was rare Stacey was beaten by anyone in any video game, and even rarer for it to be the computer itself, even if this time it wasn't actually the computer. "The hardest one available."

Stacey almost growled to herself and then insisted on a re-match.

Four games later, and halfway into a fifth, Mario was still the sole winner. Stacey finally gave up.

"Ok, that's enough! I played your one game and more, let's watch my movie. Now."

Still grinning, Marcee agreed and unplugged the Gamecube, whispering to it about how good it was, and congratulating it on its wins. Seething, Stacey put in the DVD and turned off the lights. Marcee pulled the Gamecube closer, making sure it was in a position that Stacey wouldn't be able to see in the dark in case it wanted to transform and watch the movie too. And thus ended Marcee's second day with her new robot companion.

* * *

Bumblebee had opened a comm link with his fellows while he searched, though no one had yet said much, with the exception of Ironhide, who would randomly let out a curse. The yellow 'bot assumed that it had something to do with his cleanup job, and didn't inquire.

They had worked it out so that at night, the Autobots would go to Mission City and help the cleanup crew after they left. There was a curfew put out, supposedly for "safety reasons," until the clean up had been finished. Since there would be no witnesses, they would be free to transform, which made cleanup just that much easier.

Suddenly, 'Bee detected something on his scanner. Something unusual… no, two somethings.

"This is Bumblebee, reporting. I think I've found something."

The Camaro pulled closer to the tiny house. It was on the outskirts of town, but Bumblebee couldn't think of a reason that the energy signatures would be _there._

"What have you found?" came the voice of Optimus Prime.

"I have three energy signatures. One is just a normal human being, one is close to what I've heard Ratchet describe a sparkling as, and the other…. No, it can be…. That's not possible, but there's nothing else… What else could it be?"

"You're spouting nonsense, boy!" Ironhide practically yelled in his irritation. "What have you found?"

"The only time I've felt that much power… was the Allspark. It was destroyed, though…."

"It's probably a power plant," Ironhide grumbled.

"No power plant can hold this much power," Bumblebee answered. He thought for a moment, then announced, "I'm going to send you the signatures. Maybe you know what it is."

Then, over the link, he sent the signatures to the two other mechs.

"No, it can't be…." Ironhide answered.

"Bumblebee, mark the location," Prime ordered. "A watch is to be kept. Stay hidden, but find out what you can."

Bumblebee started the watch until Ironhide took over the next day. Then Ratchet after that, and Prime after him. Silently, Optimus followed as one of the energies left the house with a human, and waited silently in the parking lot of their destination as the sparkling disappeared into a building. But something else had taken interest in the two energies, and took the chance of a guardian being away to take a closer look at the house….

**Author's Note: Check the poll in my profile! And no, you can't pick an option that's not there. I'm just that cruel. :D**


	5. Oops, I Forgot to Name the Chapter

**Author's Note: Yeah yeah. It took me long enough, I know. But I couldn't decide between Sunstreaker and Wheeljack. I wrote the whole last section with Sunstreaker, then decided I didn't know Sunny well enough to actually write about him, and re-wrote in Wheeljack form. Not really much of an excuse, but it's the only one I have.**

**Disclaimer: I do no own **_**Transformers**_** or any of its characters, including Miles. I also don't own Netflix. I do, however, own Marcee, Stacey, Cu-bot (thanks for the name!), and Kelsey.**

**This chapter is dedicated to: my friend Amy! She's a real life friend that's a real pacifist, and though she doesn't much like **_**Transformers**_** (for some reason, she hates violence, blood, gore, and explosions,) I've finally gotten her playing Halo.**

Marcee yawned and blinked her bleary eyes. Absently, she pulled the robot at her side closer, which, as she did so, she felt change back into a Gamecube. Stacey stood up beside her and flicked on the lights, resulting in a questioning half growl, half bark from Sushi.

"Where do you _get_ these movies, Stace'?" Marcee asked through another yawn.

"Netflix," came the immediate answer, the voice doing so only the slightest bit tired. Marcee absently wondered what it was that kept Stacey up all the time.

Marcee stood up and stretched her arms before gathering up her stuff. "It's late, I'm tired, and I don't want to have to drive home. Guess I have to, though, don't I?"

"You could stay here. My room mates are away-"

"No. I'm not revisiting that experience. That was just- no."

"Well, at least let me help you get all this junk back to your car."

Marcee promptly dropped the controllers in Stacey's hands before answering, "Sure, but it's not junk. Got it? Not junk."

Stacey rolled her eyes, but obediently kept her mouth shut as she followed Marcee out the door and down the hall.

Marcee's first reaction to seeing a semi truck in the parking lot, and next to her car, too, was surprise. Her eyes widened as she took in the flames painted onto its sides. Her second reaction was confusion, followed by suspicion. Why would a semi be parked in a dorm's parking lot? It didn't make much sense.

"Hey, Stace', do you normally have semis parked here?"

"No, definitely the first one I've seen," came the carefree response. "Probably nothing, though. Nothing special, other than the meteors and weird terrorist attack thing, ever happens around here."

"I think both of those have the ability to change that streak, but whatever." Marcee began walking toward her car once again. She was just opening the driver's side door when she heard a deep, male voice behind her.

"I need to speak with you."

Marcee practically dropped the Gamecube, managing to keep it clutched to her side at the last minute, while jumping out of her skin ten feet into the air. Stacey looked over the hood at her with an amused expression on her face before Marcee turned her back to her and toward the voice. A man was leaning across the passenger seat and out the window of the semi. He had an aged, but somehow soothing, appearance on his face, and his deep voice was comforting.

"Yes?" Marcee asked, holding the Gamecube to her breast. She felt Stacey take a position beside her, but Marcee didn't bother turning her head to acknowledge her friend.

"It's about your," he paused for a moment, his expression becoming blank, before continuing, though it was such a short amount of time Marcee automatically assumed she had imagined it, "Gamecube. There's something… special about it, is there not?"

"Other than the fact that it can beat me," Stacey muttered under her breath, though Marcee was pretty sure the truck driver heard her.

"No, not really," Marcee answered, a slight bit of panic starting to rise up her throat. It was a horrible lie, and she knew it.

"Really? I could have sworn-"

Marcee heard the tell-tale sign of the Gamecube changing, and looked down to see its head peeking out of a square outer shell, though it didn't bother to transform any further.

"Little 'bot!" Marcee hissed. "Now's not a good time!"

Stacey looked down at the Gamecube with an odd swirl of emotion on her face, too many to fully get the feel of each one, her jaw dropping slightly. The truck driver had a small smile on his lips, as if he had guessed this all along and was happy that he was correct. Marcee leaned against her car's side. Oh, shoot. What now?

* * *

Ratchet woke rather abruptly from recharge. He blinked his optics in confusion as he sat up on the recharge table. What could have roused him? His shift was not yet over. Perhaps he had finished recharging? This was his second time around, despite the fact that Ironhide hadn't yet gotten his turn. Not that the mech was complaining about it, mind you. No, he would never admit that he was tired.

Optimus Prime had noticed Ratchet's sudden lack of energy lately. It had been draining much faster that the others. Of course, Ratchet knew why, and he wasn't about to share it with the other 'bots, but that didn't stop Prime from worrying.  
There, there it was again. It sounded almost like an alarm-

The medic turned his head sharply to look at the console on his left. There was a little red light blinking there, and that couldn't mean anything good.

In one swift movement that only a robot could pull off so quickly after being waken up, Ratchet slid off the recharge table and made his way over to the console. It was a primitive thing, nothing close to Cybertronian technology, but it was all they had been able to set up in the short period of time, and it served its purpose. Ratchet quickly typed in a few keys, and the screen promptly lit up with a picture. It was a radar, and two blue blips were moving toward the glowing dot in the center. Two blips that shouldn't be there. Two blips that were much too small to be Optimus Prime.

Ratchet quickly opened a comm. link. "Prime? I think we have a problem…."

* * *

Wheeljack might have felt proud of himself after such a perfect landing, but he was preoccupied with all the things around him at the moment. This world, Earth, was just so _fascinating!_ Everything that was alive, it was _organic!_ How very strange.

The mech began untwisting himself from his landing form, something most humans would call a _meteorite, _he discovered after a quick search of the famed _Internet._ Or, at least famed among Autobots. It was a very useful tool, much easier than learning about a world the hard way. We just about to start studying something staring at him from a tree, a _squirrel,_ when he heard a noise behind him.

Wheeljack turned his head to see two organic creatures step out of their living quarters, a _house._ Squirrel forgotten, Wheeljack then began studying these creatures, the main species of this planet, _humans._ One appeared to be male, while the other was female. Their bodies didn't yet appear to be fully grown, but close to it. They were, as the human word went, _teens,_ or _young adults._ The both looked at him with some sort of fascination, the girl's slightly scared and cautious, while the boy's was a more excited and almost happy form.

The female began speaking, and after a quick download, Wheeljack managed to translate her strange words.

"Miles, I think we should go back in the house." _Miles_ appeared to be the male human's name. What a curious name.

Then the male answered. "Cuz, do you really think it'd protect us? Besides, it's not hurting us, and it's kinda cool. I wonder if I should call Sam…." _Cuz_ appeared to be a name, but not the girl's official name. A nickname, perhaps? _Cool_ was a word referring to Wheeljack, and it seemed to be complimentary. _Sam_ was another name, but the owner of the title didn't appear to be present at the moment.

"All right, then, maybe we should call the government? Or the police. _Anyone._ I don't know about you, but there's no way I'll be able to sleep with a giant robot in you back yard." _Government_ seemed to mean _the governing body_ of this place, which, after a short search, provided itself as being a slightly complicated thing called _Democracy._ A weird form, to be sure, but it seemed to work most of the time. The _police_ were a group of humans that tried to keep the peace and everyone obeying the rules of the place. Smart, but they didn't seem to work as efficiently as the government hoped. _Giant robot_ referred to Wheeljack once again, and the words were said with some fear in them.

"Kelsey, really," ah, there was the female's name, "what would we say? 'Oh, hi, a giant robot just landed in our backyard, can you do something about it?' Who would believe us?"

"I don't know, but-" she sighed. "We can't just do nothing, can we?"

"Maybe I really should call Sam…."

"Miles, really. What makes you think he would believe you? Besides, he ditched you for a girl. I still don't see why you forgave him for that."

The conversation was quickly steering away from anything that would be useful, and though personal politics were fascinating, Wheeljack had more urgent needs at the moment. He adjusted his vocal processors so that they were better able to handle the new language, and then asked in a metallic, and slightly staticy, but still warm and with the barest hints of a British accent, "Do you know where I can find Optimus Prime?"

The two teens jumped and looked back up at him. Deciding he must look very threatening at such a height, he crouched down to a much more human-height, though he was still quite a bit taller than they were. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Kelsey opened and closed her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't seem to get her throat to make the noise. Miles, however, didn't seem to be having quite the same trouble.

"You can talk? Dude, that's awesome!"

Wheeljack blinked his optics. It took slightly longer than before to translate _dude_ and _awesome_ into the forms the boy was using, but it was, again, complimentary. He briefly wondered why there was such a difference between the two humans when they were obviously related, but had to, again, return to more pressing matters.

"Are you going to hurt us?" the female asked timidly. She seemed suddenly scared, but even more than that, shy. What amazing creatures!

"No, I'm an Autobot!" Wheeljack answered with some amusement. Idly, he noticed his voice was getting clearer. Much less staticy. "Why would I want to hurt you?"

"Because you're big, and we're small?" answered Miles.

"No, I wouldn't do that. But would you know where I could find the Autobot headquarters?"

"The auto-whats?" asked Miles. He seemed the more talkative of the groups.

"The Autobots. We're a group of Cybertronians united against the Decepticons, in the hopes of saving our kind as well as others from their hands."

"Cyber-tro-nines?"

"Cybertronians. People that come from the planet Cybertron."

"Miles," Kelsey whispered, though Wheeljack's sensors still picked it up, "it's a giant _alien_ robot!"

"I think it's a good guy, though," Miles whispered back.

Suddenly, Kelsey's face paled. Wheeljack immediately became worried. Had she contracted some sort of illness?

"Miles," she said a little louder. "Do you remember the all of the meteors last weekend? The ones that obviously hit, but the meteorite was no where to be found?"

Mile's face paled slightly, too. "Oh. Ooooohhhhh."

Was the disease contagious?

Miles looked back up at Wheeljack. "Did you have any, you know, friends, that landed a while back?"

Wheeljack relaxed a bit, though the humans would probably have never known he had stiffenend in the first place. "Yeah, about four of your Earth days ago."

The pair of humans looked at each other with wide eyes briefly before turning back to the giant robot before them.

"Oh," whispered Miles once more.

**A/N: I'm over-running the Autobot base with **_**girls!**_** Mwahahahahaha! Actually, the only reason I added Kelsey was because I though up a bunch of nicknames for a real Kelsey I know, but she won't let me use them. So, I'm going to torture this poor Kelsey with them!**


	6. And Then, the Giant Aliens Attacked

**Author's Note: Hmm. I actually don't have anything to say.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Transformers**_** or any of its characters, but I do own Marcee, Stacey, Cu-bot, and Kelsey.**

**This chapter is dedicated to TFSTARFIRE for her review back on chapter four. (Are you a Teen Titans fan as well as a Transformers fan?) I thank you for the review. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy and like this story is actually worth writing.**

**It was bound to happen. I thought of something to say. So I ask, please excuse typos, grammar, etc. I was going to go back and check it over, but I got lazy and just worked on the spelling. I'll look it over later.**

The man's grin suddenly turned to a frown. Marcee appeared to be the only one who noticed, though, as Stacey was too busy staring from Gamecube, to Marcee, and back again, while the robot was studying Stacey with a look would make one think it could stare straight down to your insides. For all they knew, it might.

"Marcee Alianne Cooper," the truck driver began, frown still firmly in place. Both Gamecube and Stacey looked back up at the man, "There is much that needs to be explained, but there is no time. As we speak, your house is being attacked. We must hurry if we are to get there in time."

Marcee just looked at him dumbly. "What?!"

"We must hurry," he repeated, urgency clear in his voice.

The man flickered out like a hologram. Marcee felt the hair raise on the back of her neck. He _was_ a hologram. The passenger side door opened.

The two girls just stared, before Stacey finally regained her voice. "You want us to _trust you?! _We just met, I found out my friend's Gamecube is a robot, the guy I was just talking to was a hologram, you say Marcee's house is being attacked, and you want us to trust you as if it's nothing unusual?! I'm sorry, but I think that's a bit too much to ask."

Marcee heard something like a sigh came from the semi, and it almost seemed to sag on its tires. "Please, there's no time-"

"Why can't we just take my car?" Marcee asked accusingly.

"Your car wouldn't be fast enough-"

"And a semi _would?"_

"Please-"

Suddenly, a strange beeping-chirp rang out, and Marcee looked down to her now fully-transformed friend. It was staring at her with something close to pleading in its green eyes.

"Look, I can't just trust a guy, err, semi, I just met," she told it, her voice softer and more caring. It's little features turned into a frown and it wriggled in an attempt to get out of her grasp.

However, she held tight. It gave her a look that was the closest thing she had ever seen to a glare on its face before a light electric current, not painful, but certainly not pleasant, ran through her arms. Her hands dropped him against her own will, and he scurried over to the semi and began climbing in.

Marcee shook her hand at the slight tingling sensation as she scowled down at the 'bot. Somehow, it managed to climb in, and she had a feeling it had gotten some help. She tried to reach out and grab it, but the Gamecube swiftly scooted over into the driver's seat out of her reach. Now there was some robotic satisfaction in its eyes as it waited patiently for the inevitable.

Marcee sighed. "Come on, Stace'.

Stacey continued to look at her incredulously. "What?! So, just because your Gamecube hops into the semi, you're going to too?"

"The truck's not hurting it, and-"

"Marcee, I didn't even know your Gamecube could _do that_ until a minute ago. You can't expect me to suddenly trust its judgement!"

The semi seemed to shift uncomfortably on its tires. "We must hurry, the Decepticons are-"

Not far away, a building blew up. The two teens heard some form of maniacal, mechanical laughter from above, and some shape flying across the night sky.

"Come _on_ Stacey!" Marcee grabbed her stunned friend's wrist and yanked her into the cab of the semi as she climbed up herself. Marcee took a place in the driver's seat, while Stacey took the passenger's, the sparkling-Gamecube sitting in Marcee's lap. The passenger door slammed shut, and seatbelts strapped the humans in. "Hold on!" came from the speakers, and the semi screeched out of the parking lot.

While Wheeljack was letting the two humans get over their initial shock, he searched the internet for anything and everything interesting until he finally remembered what he was actually supposed to be doing- find Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots. With a robotic frown he opened his scanners to search for any sign or signal of them, but the first Cybertronian signal he came across stopped his search entirely. One word echoed through his mind, and one word escaped his mouth: _Decepticon._

Miles looked up from his daze. "What?"

The expression on Wheeljack's face was no longer one of happy curiosity, but instead one of slight fear, but not fear for himself, mixed with something close to anger and hatred. "There are Decepticons nearby. I have to go. I can't just let them wander around as they please-"

"But you can't just walk around like _that,_ either," Kelsey piped up. "We humans don't see giant alien robots every day."

Wheeljack stood up from his crouch and looked around from where he stood. His optics rested on something mechanical, a _car._ They were a normal sight, and used for transportation on the Earth _roads_….

The two humans watched in amazement as the robot before them transformed into an S-2000.

The green-and-white car drove out of the hole in the ground, resting in the grass beside the teens. They looked at him with obvious amazement in their eyes.

Wheeljack searched directions to the Decepticon, but things like "Turn right on Oak Street," or "Head down town" didn't make much sense to him. He was sure, given time, he could figure it out, but time was something Wheeljack didn't have. He turned to face the two teens. "Do you know how to get to 713 Walkmen Road?"

"I do!" Miles answered, stepping forward.

"Could you help me, then? I can't understand _anything_ these directions are saying."

Miles hopped in the opened door without another question, Kelsey following a bit more slowly, before the S-2000 pulled out into the road.

Miles couldn't get over how cool this was. A giant alien robot had just landed in his backyard, it had just changed into a _car_, an S-2000 at that, and now he was in it, driving away as they sought out "Decepticons." It was every boy's dream come true, and now he was living it.

Sam was going to be _so_ jealous.

Miles was jerked out of his thoughts as his cousin, sitting in the driver's seat, told the car, "Turn left," and it did so in a speedy fashion. Miles was flung about the car, landing on Kelsey's shoulder before sitting himself back up. He quickly strapped himself in as he realized he hadn't done so earlier.

"There it is." Kelsey pointed to a small house on a corner. It had a tiny yard, no trees, and barely a large enough driveway for a car. It had white-wash walls and-

A door missing?

Miles looked closer. No, the door wasn't missing, but instead smashed inward. There was a commotion going inside the house.

The robot-car pulled into the driveway and opened the doors, practically flinging the teens onto the ground. They quickly picked themselves up and watched as the reverse of the transformation from earlier happened before their eyes. As the robot stood there, once again a robot, something crashed out the window.

Kelsey and Miles, who were now standing next to each other, wheeled around in horror to see another robot, this one not nearly so friendly looking, staring at them with glowing red eyes.

It was made up of sheets of metal that slid under and over one another as it moved. It almost looked like a suit of armor that was darkened to a black. It had a distinctively cat-like appearance to it, and clamped in its metal jaws was a cube. A metal cube, covered in odd symbols.

"No!" the robot behind them screamed, and lunged for the cat. It danced away mockingly.

Another robot came out from the smashed front door, this one with an obviously more humanoid look to it. Its armor, or whatever it was you would call its metal body, was an almost purple hue. On almost smug expression was on its metal face, even as it looked at the two humans before it. It was about their height, but that didn't stop it from charging at the pair full-force.

It shoved Kelsey to the ground, trying its best to pin the squirming human to the ground. Miles almost growled, and his eyes narrowed. No one, robot or not, was going to hurt his cousin!

So, without thought for his own well-being, Miles put everything he had behind him as he shoved the walking can-opener off Kelsey. It landed beside her on the concrete, a loud screech resulting as its metal plating dragged across the concrete. A new expression was on its face, and it wasn't at all pleasant.

Before the "Decepticon" could get up, however, Miles pounced, his muscles straining as he pressed the creature into the ground. Kelsey ran into the house, hoping to find a weapon of somesort. The whole place was in ruins, and she picked up a large piece of wood shaped almost like a baseball back and returned to the fight.

The robot had overcome Miles, and now it was the one pressing _Miles_ into the ground. Kelsey scowled and gave one good swing with her new weapon.

Though the robot was once again thrown to the ground, the wood shattered. Nothing she could think of would be effective. Their only hope seemed to be holding off the creature until their larger robot friend could help them out.

"You take its right arm," Miles whispered to Kelsey, panting, "I'll take the left."

So, in unison, the two humans flung themselves at the Decepticon, pinning its flailing body down by its arms. Their adrenaline would only last so long, though, and neither was sure how long they would last.

Then they heard a familiar robotic voice behind them. "Here, let me help."

They looked back to see the S-2000 pointing a glowing gun of alien-make at them. The two scrambled out of the way, and it fired.

Unfortunately, the Decepticon was faster. It scrambled out of the way, yelling something back in another language over its shoulder that both humans could only guess to be obscene before it ran off, dodging shots as it went.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Miles practically yelled. "Let's go after it!"

The Autobot sighed. "It wouldn't do us any good. He's stronger than the two of you, and more agile than me. Plus, he can cause earthquakes. We'll just have to let him get away this time."

Kelsey could feel Miles fuming at his side, but she could also feel the anger draining out of him. She had never seen her cousin so angry before, and it scared her.

They continued to stand there in silence, the only sounds that of the humans deep breaths. Until, that is, a metallic growl rang out. As two pairs of eyes looked up, they saw the metal big cat struggling in Wheeljack's grip. In his other hand, the robot held the cube.

Miles was about to ask the obvious question when a semi, going at speeds that seemed impossible for a truck that size, even without a trailer, pulled up on the side of the road. Two humans piled out of the door, and one appeared to be holding something robotic.

Then, the semi transformed.

The resulting robot was even larger than the S-2000-bot, and seemed to hold an air of calm authority about itself.

"Wheeljack, reporting for duty, sir."

"So it is true," the larger of the two said, holding its hand out for the cube. "The Allspark has returned." It seemed quietly sad as well as happy at the discovery.

Meanwhile, the humans had gravitated toward each other, most likely to seek the comforts of people both their own size and species. However, all eyes were locked on the two aliens.

"Where are the others?" asked Wheeljack.

"Coming," answered the leader, looking off down the road. "Coming."


	7. Who Wants to do Some Paperwork?

Author's Note: Ok, I'm sorry for the long wait, and I'm sorry for how much this chapter sucks. My muse decided to go on vacation, apparently, and for a while I was without muse completely. Then, he sent me his younger sister, who's not very good at her job, so I could spit this out. Sometime in the future I'll probably go back over this, but until then, you're stuck with it.

**Here's hoping Mr. Muse comes back soon.**

**This dedication goes to my personal stalker, who's been reading my stories without reviewing or telling me he's reading them. (You know who you are!) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Transformers**_** or any of its characters, but I do own Marcee, Stacey, Kelsey, and Cu-bot**

The four huddled humans (and one little Gamecube) started to loose interest in the conversing robots when they switched languages. Half of everything they said the humans couldn't even hope to pronounce, not to mention understand with their lesser ears. So, Marcee drifted to her house, occasionally muttering something under her breath when she found something in particularly bad shape, while Kelsey and Stacey began quietly talking. Miles stood off to the side, and after a moment of hesitation, he pulled out his phone and dialed Sam's number.

"Hey, Miles? Can you call me back later? I'm kind of busy right now-"

"Dude, I'm looking at two giant robots right now! And earlier, a little one attacked me-"

"What?! Bee, why didn't you tell me one was _Miles?!"_

"Sam, what are you talking about?"

"Look, are you safe now? Is Optimus there?"

"Sam- You know, don't you? You _knew_, and you didn't tell me!"

"Look, Miles, now's not the time to talk about this. I'm on my way, and we can talk about it then. Bumblebee, can't you go any faster?"

"Dude, I can't believe you would- Why? It's just-" he stuttered before letting out a sigh. "I guess Kelsey was right."

"Isn't Kelsey your cousin? Woah, Bee, red light!"

"Yeah, she is. You know what? You're right. We'll talk about it later."

"Alright. See ya- watch out for the car!"

"Bye," Miles mumbled, though Sam had already hung up.

Kelsey glanced over, said something to Stacey, and then walked up to Miles. "Didn't believe you? I told you he wouldn't."

"No, worse," Miles growled. "He knows. He's known since they landed, maybe longer."

Kelsey felt the blood drain from her face. Oh, that was harsh.

"Maybe he didn't have time? After all, there was that attack on Mission City-"

"How much longer has it been since then? If was going to tell me, he would have by now."

"Maybe, for some reason, he wasn't allowed to? Maybe he agreed to some secret alien truce, and if he breaks it, they squash him?"

"Ok, Kels, that sounds far-fetched, even for me."

She had been about to say something more when the larger robot, the one that had been a semi, announced in English, "Here they come."

Miles heard an ambulance, and the sound was growing louder. He looked down the road they had come, and saw lights flashing atop a yellow shape. As it drew closer, Miles realized it wasn't alone. It was trailed by two other cars.

Before he had time enough to figure out what the cars behind the ambulance were, it pulled into the newly-vacated driveway. The other two cars pulled up on the side of the road. The driver's side door of the ambulance opened, and, at first, Miles thought Sam was going to hop out. It wasn't until the person rounded the car he realized he had been mistaken.

_Mikaela_ had known, too?!

Miles saw Sam climb out of the yellow car, a Camaro, he now realized, out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't even turn his head to acknowledge him. He didn't even bother trying to hide the anger on his face: it was obvious to everyone present.

Mikaela took one look at Miles, and then turned with an equally angry expression to Sam.

"You didn't even _try_ to explain why we couldn't tell him, did you?" she said in an icily quiet tone.

"I was going to wait until I could talk to him face-to-face-"

"You could have at least _tried!_"

By this point, all of the cars present had changed into their robotic forms, and were watching the bickering humans with unreadable expressions on their faceplates. Or, at least, unreadable to the humans. For all they knew, the robots could be plainly broadcasting their feelings, and they just couldn't tell.

The fighting would have continued, but the smallest of the group, the yellow one that had first been a Camaro, looked toward the blue-and-red one and spoke, again in English.

"They're on their way."

"Who's on their way?" Stacey demanded before anyone else could react.

Sam muttered something about "Sector Seven," but no one really heard him, or was even paying attention.

The leader of the group gave a sigh and answered, "Our old friends from the government. They were part of Sector Seven, until Secretary Keller disbanded them. I suspect that their duties will remain similar to what that once were, however."

Sam looked up at the robots with an almost pleading look in his eye. "_Please_ tell me it's not Reggie, _please!"_

After a short pause, the yellow one answered again, "Both Simmons and Banachek are on their way."

Sam cursed, and Mikaela scowled down at the ground. All other humans present got the feeling that the pair on their way were going to be more trouble than they were worth.

Mikaela was the first one to speak up. "You'd better give your speech, Optimus, before they arrive."

The red and blue one nodded. "I suppose you're right." He crouched down to a much more human level, and looked directly at the newest members of the "I now know about alien robots" club. "My name is Optimus Prime, and I am leader of the Autobots. Our goal is to prevent any further harm our enemies, the Decepticons, may try to reek. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron, though your planet is now our home."

He stood up. "My weapons specialist, Ironhide," he introduced, reaching an arm out in the black mech's direction. He simply crossed his arms and made the closest noise to a growl the gathered had ever heard come from a robot. "Our medic, Ratchet." The once-ambulance gave a nod. "Bumblebee, Sam's guardian and our only scout here on Earth." The yellow Autobot waved. "And our newest arrival, Wheeljack, the scientist."

He nodded. "Sorry about not introducing myself earlier, I hadn't thought about it." The big cat robot in his hand squirmed, as if annoyed it hadn't been introduced.

"That is a Decepticon, in your language, his name would best translate to 'Ravage.' I believe his brother, Rumble, escaped before I arrived."

"You mean the one that attacked me?" Kelsey asked, glancing over at Miles as she did so.

"That's the one," Wheeljack answered.

Miles scowled, but said nothing.

"They are about five minutes away now," Bumblebee announced, and a sudden air of urgency fell over the gathered.

Optimus turned his optics on Marcee, all business now. He showed her the cube. "Is this yours?"

Marcee gave it one shocked glance before looking back up to the robotic face. "Yeah. What's so important about it?"

"This is the Allspark, something of great power. It is the object of the war that I had hoped we had finished, but now it appears that it has simply claimed a new battlefield. Where did you obtain this object?"

"I made it in high school. It's never shown any odd properties before- I don't know why it would start now."

"Before, the Allspark was not housed in this cube. Where did you learn of these symbols?"

Marcee paused for a moment, closing her eyes as she remembered. She felt the Gamecube-bot shift in her grip and his green eyes turn up to stare into her own. "The project was to make a cube into something interesting out of any material you chose," she answered without opening her eyes. "I picked metal, and I looked on the internet for something cool to decorate it with." She looked back up. "While I was searching, I found a picture of an old newspaper with those symbols all over it. It said something about Archibald Witwicky, but that's all I remember."

Ratchet made a couple of garbled electronic noises in the direction of Optimus Prime. In turn, nodded with a few short clicks. Marcee felt slightly annoyed that, other than Stacey, Miles, Kelsey, herself, and the Gamecube, this seemed to make perfect sense.

"Two minutes," Bumblebee put in.

Sam looked up at Optimus. "But… I thought I destroyed the Allspark, along with Megatron. How can it be in that cube?"

"I think I have a theory," Wheeljack offered. "Though maybe it best be discussed later." The S2000 then turned his head to Ratchet. "Do you think you could shut him off for the time being?" he asked, holding up Ravage.

The neon yellow bot nodded and stepped closer. Ravage began squirming like his very life depended on it, and the assembled wondered if it did. The mech then easily opened a slot on the creatures back, messed with something inside the panel, and then the black robot's eyes shut off, and its whole body relaxed.

It was then that a black SUV decided to pull up on the side of the road. Idly, Marcee though about how her tiny yard wasn't meant for this many people as two men stepped out of the vehicle. This one stayed safely car-like.

The men wore suits and seemed to have an all-business attitude about them. Sam and Mikaela began staring at one of them, in particular, with hatred obvious in their eyes. The man either didn't notice, or simply ignored them completely.

They paused at the fringe of the circle everyone, human or not, had created, before one stepped forward, looking up at Wheeljack. "A new NBE, I see." He then turned his head to stare at the huddle of humans. "And some new kids in on the secret! Wonderful." He turned back to face his partner. "Banachek, did you bring the forms?"

The other man nodded and pulled a rather thick-looking stack of paper out of his coat and handed it to the other, whom had to be Simmons. Simmons, in turn, pulled out a pen.

He clicked it open. "So, who's ready to do a lot of paperwork?"


	8. One Dead Cat

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I started writing this chapter, and it was so bad I ended up having to force myself to write it. In the end, I gave up, and then I went on vacation. When I got back, though, I had this idea for how to do this chapter differently, scraped the whole thing, and started again. It's still not very good, though. Hopefully future chapters will be better.**

**This chapter is dedicated to whitedino! Whitedino went through and reviewed every chapter, which no one else had done. Gave me an extra boost, and surprised me immensely when I found my inbox full of Review Alerts.**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own. Nothin new of mine coming in except…. Oh, look, three people that are as good as dead! And a black leopard that **_**is**_** dead! Even a bird! (Let the bidding on the dead leopard start at one dollar….)**

In South America, deep in the Amazon Rainforest, three natives were making their way toward a large, smoldering crater. They approached cautiously, the two men first, and the woman following behind, peeking over their shoulders as she did so. Suddenly, one of the men cried out in their tongue, pointing to a still body lying nearby. It was a black leopard, and it had many injuries. Its neck was snapped, and deep, gouging marks crossed and criss-crossed across the pelt. The group muttered amongst themselves, wondering what creature could bring down a big cat so easily. Timidly, the woman stepped closer to the crate, and kicked a rock into its depths while the two men best decided how to take the leopard home. Then, there was a loud boom, the people stumbling as what felt like a small earthquake tripped them up. There was another boom, and the people turned to see two glowing red eyes in the darkness, and metal claws curving around a tree, scarring it as they did so…..

* * *

It was quickly decided that, after doing the extensive paperwork, everyone would return to the Autobot's base, located in Hoover Dam where Megatron and the Allspark were once housed. The ride was relatively uneventful, with only humans being informed of all they would need to know about giant robots, a few questions, and Sam's desperate attempt to make up with his friend breaking the silence. Ravage, still out, stayed safely in Ratchet's back.

When they finally did arrive, though, they just stood around, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly. No one knew what to do, and no one knew what to say. Wheeljack was the first to break the silence.

"Optimus Prime? I was wondering if I could use Ravage in an experiment of mine…."

Prime turned a tired expression on the scientist. "Wheeljack, we have not had time to re-enforce the building yet, and with the humans being so fragile-"

"It doesn't use anything explosive. I'd just be reprogramming parts to send information back to us."

At the word "explosive," all humans present began to wonder what sort of things had happened in the past for that to be a worry. How many explosions did it take for the calm Optimus Prime to be cautious of them?

Ironhide then chose to speak up, gruffly commenting, "You blew up water. You can blow up anything."

Wheeljack looked about to shoot something back, but after giving a sweeping look of the humans and, oddly enough, Bumblebee, he stopped himself.

After a long silence, Optimus finally answered Wheeljack's question. "Only if Ratchet will be there to supervise." Immediately, Ratchet's body tensed, and his expression showed distaste. He gave his leader a look that said, "please tell me you're joking."

But he wasn't. The medic passed the limp body of Ravage to Wheeljack, seemingly tired of carrying it all of a sudden, and began to lead the way into what was assumed to be the closest thing to a lab they had in the building, the cube, which he had been holding, still in hand.

"Wait, Ratchet. I see no reason for you to take the Allspark with you. Wheeljack can be dangerous enough without something of that power nearby." There was a grin in the way he said this, and though the S2000 tried to look offended, it was obvious he was not. Ratchet obediently passed the hunk of metal over, when Sam suddenly got a look on his face that said something had suddenly dawned on him.

"Wait, that thing's the Allspark, right?"

Everyone stared at him as if he had suddenly sprouted tentacles.

"It can create life, right? So, couldn't it bring Jazz back?"

The red-and-blue mech's expression darkened. "I am sorry Sam, but Jazz's spark was extinguished. If we were to use the Allspark to give him a new one, it wouldn't be the same spark. It would be another person in his body."

Sam suddenly found something very interesting stuck to his shoes.

"It was a good idea, though, Sam," Mikaela whispered, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"Uh, actually," Ratchet interrupted, a guilty expression plastered to his metal features, "I think there's something you should know."

* * *

Laserbeak was rather proud of himself. He had waited by the suspected base, waiting patiently for any side of the Autoscum. It hadn't taken long for his attention span to dwindle, though, and he had found a bird perched in a nearby tree suddenly very interesting. With the realization that he probably stood out like, well, like a flying robot sitting in a tree, he had gone over, scanned the bird, and then, slowly, painfully, ended its pathetic life. Not long after, the Autobots had come rolling by, not even noticing his presence, despite the fact that there was a dead bird, and a rather large one, too, sitting in the middle of the road. Laserbeak had then scanned as much as he could, taking and storing any interesting data before taking to the skies to return to his master.

Yes, his task had been simple. Yes, his task had been easy. But his task had also had so many opportunities for failure, and failure was something Soundwave did not tolerate. To return successful, though, that was something different. Oh yes, his master would be very pleased!

**A/N: Oh, in case you haven't already noticed, there's a poll on my profile. Looks like many of you **_**have**_** noticed, though.**


	9. A Mostly Unimportant Chapter

**Author's Note: Wow, that turned out to be more of a filler than I would have liked. Oh well. Hard for me to think on this subject without Revenge of the Fallen popping up in my mind. Only two days away! I hope I can see it on opening day.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Raine Tsuki-san, because he/she was the first person to review my story, though they haven't reviewed since. Still, the first one is always special, isn't it? That, and when I went to go look at their profile, not only did it amuse me, but I saw my story as a favorite, and it made me a little happy, despite the fact that it happened a while ago.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Transformers**_** or its characters, but I do own Stacey, Marcee, Mario, Kelsey, and the little side-plots that go on in my head but are too embarrassing to actually write down.**

All eyes, or optics, as the case may be, turned on Ratchet. The medic was about to explain when Wheeljack interrupted.

"Woah, wait, are you telling me Jazz is _dead?!_ Why didn't anyone tell me!?"

"It didn't seem important at the time, Wheeljack," Ratchet answered, clearly irritated.

"Continue," Optimus added patiently.

Ratchet's hands reached toward the middle of his chest, everyone watching his movements as he did so. He pulled aside some plating, and revealed something that glowed, no, _pulsed,_ with what could only be described as life. Next to it, much smaller, was another, its color slightly different.

"When Jazz was ripped apart, his spark was still alive, though it was quickly going out. Without a properly working body, his spark couldn't survive. I acted rashly, and I took his spark into my own body. I wasn't yet ready to loose him, though I didn't think there was any hope at the time. I… I know I shouldn't have done it, but now, I'm glad I did."

He closed the chamber once again.

It was quiet for a long time before Sam broke the silence.

"So… you _can_ save him?"

"Yes, Sam," Optimus answered. "Ratchet, I'm sorry, but-"

The medic gave a mechanical sigh. "I know. I deserve the punishment. Can we save the lecture until after I save Jazz, though?"

A ghost of a smile appeared on the mech's lips. "Of course." Ratchet turned to leave, but Prime stopped him once more. "And Ratchet? You're to work in the Mission City cleanup during your free time until its finished."

The ambulance's shoulders sagged, but he continued on his way. Without another word, the Autobots departed to their earlier mentioned posts, leaving the humans alone in the large, concrete room. Sam was the first to sit down, closely followed by Miles, then Stacey, and so on, until only the ex-Sector Seven agents remained standing, and they didn't give any impression of moving.

"So… what's your name?" Mikaela asked, gesturing toward Marcee. "I'm Mikaela, and this is Sam, by boyfriend."

Marcee nodded. "I'm Marcee and this is- was- my Gamecube."

"I'm her friend Stacey."

"I'm Kelsey, and this," she gave him no time to introduce himself, "is my cousin Miles." The group turned to look at the Agents.

"Reginald Simmons," answered one gruffly.

"Tom Banachek," responded the other, voice all business.

Silence fell over the group again before a certain little robot grew restless. He climbed out of Marcee's lap where he had been recently, and instead walked toward the closest person- Simmons. It stopped by his leg, putting one metal hand out against his leg to steady itself, and looked up. Reginald grimaced and kicked his leg lightly. The Gamecube made a clicking noise and moved on to Banachek, who gave the clear impression of one trying not to look at something clearly interesting by his foot. It made an almost pleased sounding purr, and walked carefully over to Sam.

While the robot circled around his subject, Sam's eyes on it the whole time, he asked, "So, what's its name?"

Marcee blushed and looked down at the floor. "I… don't know. I never named it, and I think "Little Bot" or "Gamecube" are kinda stupid names."

Meanwhile, said robot had moved onto Mikaela, and the too were studying each other curiously. "What's your name, little 'bot?" she asked, though she didn't expect an answer. "Do you have one?"

There was a click, and then a mechanical _whirr_ing sound before a recording from a certain video game played.

"_Mario."_

Everyone just stared.

* * *

"Prime here," Optimus announced as the screen came to life, showing the face of Secretary Keller clearly.

"Ah, good to see you again, Optimus Prime. I have some news…. Though I'm not sure if it's good."

"I have some things to report myself, Secretary, involving the Allspark."

"That big cube-thing that was in Hoover Dam?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'd love to hear it. Perhaps you should go first, so I don't have to worry about you leaving to go tell your comrades my news before you get a chance to tell it."

The corner of the Autobot's leader's lips twitched upward slightly. "Of course. Yesterday, the other Autobots and myself felt something we were sure was another sparkling being born- something that could only happen if the Allspark were to do so itself. We went out in search of both the sparkling and what had created it, and found that a girl by the name of Marcee Alianne Cooper had somehow ended up with the Allspark. She had accidentally turned her Gamecube into a Cybertronian sparkling. When I found her, though, she was at her friend's dwelling, and while there, Ratchet detected Decepticons moving in on her house, where she had left the Allspark. We rushed to get there, and found another Autobot, Wheeljack, who has landed recently, had gotten there first, and retrieved the Allspark. One of the two Decepticons attacking got away."

"The other?"

"We have him here, along with Marcee, her friend, Stacey, Sam, Mikaela, Simmons, Banachek, and two humans Wheeljack brought, Miles Curro and his cousin, Kelsey Curro."

"Wow. That's a lot of humans."

"We wish to keep them here for a while, to protect them, if we can."

Secretary Keller wiped a hand down his face. "I think we'll have to talk about that later. It's my turn. We have reports coming in from the Amazon Rainforest of three missing people. The search party followed their trail to a fresh crater, one similar in appearance to the ones you and your friends created when you arrived. There were what looked like claw marks on a nearby tree, and a dead black leopard on the ground nearby, with serious injuries. The agents also found high traces of that signature you and your buddies give off. Oh, wait, here, let me send you the pictures."

On the screen appeared three pictures- one of the scarred tree, one of the crater, and one of the dead big cat found nearby.

Optimus Prime groaned. "This reeks of Decepticons. We'll see if we can't find anything else."

"If you don't mind me asking," the Secretary of Defense continued, the pictures on screen disappearing to be replaced by his face, "why wouldn't your scanners detect them entering?"

The blue and red mech seemed to get older as Keller watched. "We haven't had time to install sensors across your world, we've barely had time to spread them here, close to base. This possible Decepticon landing is news to me."

Keller nodded. "If there isn't anything else you'd like to add, I'd best get back to work. There's a lot of it to do, and you guys just seem to add to the paperwork, no offense."

"I understand. Prime, out."

"Bye."

* * *

Wheeljack was looking at the half-dead Ravage laying on the table in the center of the room. That was about the only equipment in the room- a Cybertronian sized table. Bumblebee was standing off to the side, near the wall, practically bouncing with excitement.

"Do you think they'll be able to bring him back? Jazz, I mean."

"I don't know," Wheeljack answered distractedly, shifting a piece of plating aside on the Decepticons body.

"I hope Ratchet can. I've missed Jazz so much, and it's only been a few days!"

"I haven't missed him at all."

"Well, of course you haven't," Bumblebee answered, used to having to figure out what Wheeljack meant even if he said something different. "You didn't even know he was gone! But I suppose that's good, in this case."

"Mmhm."

"I wonder how long it'll take." He flexed his fingers impatiently. "I hope it'll be soon."

Wheeljack sighed, shifted the armor back into place, and turned to the yellow scout. "Look, Bumblebee, I know you're excited and all, but I need to work on this. Can you be quiet, just for a little while?"

Bumblebee nodded, almost guiltily, though his mood quickly bounced back up.

Wheeljack turned back to Ravage and added over his shoulder, almost as an afterthought, "Oh, and you need to learn another word for 'hope.'"


	10. What Happens When You Mix Birds and Dogs

**A/N: Ok! It took forever, (I had the worst case of writer's block, plus I put this story on hiatus,) but it's finally done! Not nearly as long as I would like, but it just seemed like such a good place to end the chapter. Don't worry, I have plans for the future!**

**Disclaimer: Do I really need this any more? Not. Mine. Not even Buzzsaw.**

**Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to anyone who actually waited out that long period and actually made it to this chapter! Thanks for not giving up! (Ok, you probably gave up and suddenly went, OMG, she's back! When you got the alert, but hey, whatever.) Reviews are appreciated!**

_:Comm speak:_

It was decided that the teens would stay at the base until further notice for their protection. Two adult volunteers and Optimus Prime (he was the only one available at the time), after gathering a list of needed possessions, headed out into town for Stacey's dorm, which happened to be the closest of their stops at the moment. As it turned out, the one building that had blown up before Marcee and her friend left was the one of the only two Starscream had destroyed after he realized his distraction wasn't being very distracting. Sure, he had taken a few more humans than was strictly necessary afterward, but the clean up was a lot easier than it could have been, which made it (slightly) easier to make their way through the perimeter to the dorm.

Will opened the door to Stacey's room, dragging a large suitcase behind him. As he flicked on the lights, Maggie followed with a pet carier. Will remembered his reaction when being told Stacey needed sushi.

"Anything else you need?" he had asked.

"Oh yeah!" Stacey had exclaimed. "I need Sushi, too!"

Will had given her an are-you-mentally-stable? look. "You need _sushi."_

Marcee had then saved the both of them from their confusion by responding, "Sushi is her dog. A little yappy Pomeranian. The day that dog stops barking, she's either died, or the world will end."

Will grinned to himself at the memory, and then realized he didn't hear any yapping. He turned to Maggie. "Where's the dog?"

Maggie's brow furrowed. "I don't know," she had replied in that accent of hers. "Maybe she's hiding under the bed?"

Will shrugged and mare his way toward a dresser, hoping it was Stacey's. He pulled open a drawer and lifted out a shirt, holding it out to show Maggie. "Hey, Maggie, d'you thi-" He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as the world went black.

* * *

It hadn't been very hard at all for Buzzsaw to figure out where the girl had lived. Laserbeak was the spy, Buzzsaw was the hacker. Buzzsaw had really never been good at spying; he was much too likely to begin hacking the nearest network and forget he needed to watch for this or that.

It didn't help that the Autobots were so slagging predictable, either. They would keep the humans safe, obviously, and there was a high likelihood someone would be sent out for said human's belongings.

All Buzzsaw had to do was find one of the human's homes and wait for however it was that had the misfortune of being sent out on an item retrieval-party. He quickly found the home of a Stacey Welfond and made his way toward the dorm, managing to open the window to her room without completely shattering and entering the dark building without so much as a hiccup.

Or, at least, it would have gone without a hiccup if it weren't for Sushi.

The dog, as per her nature, immediately went off at the sight (and sound) of a robotic bird entering her territory. There were a few shouts of "Shut up Sushi!" "Shut that dog up!" and "Stace', get your dog under control," and Buzzsaw quickly realized having this Earth-creature know as a dog announcing his presence to the world wasn't going to help him in a stealth mission. With a quick slash of a talon, the dog's throat was cut open and the leaking body was thrown under the bed and out of sight. That over with, Buzzsaw made himself comfortable in an out-of-the-way corner that wasn't immediately visible from the door. He didn't have to wait long.

Two humans, one of the male gender and one of the female, entered, obviously there to do just as Buzzsaw had predicted: take the required items back to base for its latest occupants to use. Buzzsaw waited patiently for the human to be just in the right position and then….

The man didn't know what hit him, and Buzzsaw found it comical how easily he could kill this person the Autobots obviously so treasured. The man was wanted alive, however, so Buzzsaw left him knocked out of the ground while he turned to the female. He had a message to deliver.

"Tell the Autobots," he rasped, forcing his voice to form the human words, "that Soundwave proposes a trade for the human male." And with that, Buzzsaw carefully dragged the unconcious human toward the window, stepped up onto the groaning wood, and leapt off, human still in his metal claws.

Maggie just stood there, mouth open, as she dropped the pet carrier.

* * *

"He WHAT?!" Optimus practically bellowed as Maggie breathlessly updated him on the situation, having run all the way down the stairs and out into the parking lot.

"He-he just took Will and s-said that Sou-oundwave proposes-es a t-trade."

There was a rumbling sound from the Peterbilt's that sounded very unhappy before the engine kicked in and the Autobot leader pulled out of the parking lot. "He probably wants Ravage back," Optimus mumbled, more to himself than anything.

"Y-you mean that big metal cat?"

"Indeed."

There was silence in the cab for a while before Maggie finally spoke up again. "What are we going to tell Stacey about her dog?"

* * *

Optimus was just arriving back at the base when Ratchet sent out through their personal comm Units, :_He's done! Jazz is done! All I have to do is replace the spark!:_

Optimus groaned both out loud and over the comm. :_You have horrible timing, Ratchet.:_

Surprisingly, it was Wheeljack who spoke up. :_What happened, Optimus?:_

_:Let's just say I don't think Soundwave was happy that we took Ravage.:_


End file.
